New York State Common Retirement Fund Sells 48,500 Shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT)

New York State Common Retirement Fund reduced its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT - Free Report) by 54.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 40,884 shares of the transportation company's stock after selling 48,500 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund's holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services were worth $6,049,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,390,200 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $578,572,000 after acquiring an additional 15,476 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,124,425 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $362,554,000 after purchasing an additional 104,019 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,997,568 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $340,049,000 after purchasing an additional 8,968 shares in the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 1,319,637 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $225,209,000 after buying an additional 8,725 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 428.4% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,263,391 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $215,610,000 after buying an additional 1,024,295 shares during the period. 74.95% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at J.B. Hunt Transport Services

In other news, EVP David Keefauver sold 989 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.97, for a total value of $150,298.33. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 946 shares in the company, valued at $143,763.62. This trade represents a 51.11% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 2.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Stock Performance

JBHT traded down $0.11 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $149.73. 1,188,649 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,057,303. The company's 50-day moving average is $144.80 and its 200 day moving average is $150.70. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.85 billion, a PE ratio of 27.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.29. J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. has a 52 week low of $122.79 and a 52 week high of $200.40.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 15th. The transportation company reported $1.31 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.34 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $2.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.93 billion. J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a net margin of 4.59% and a return on equity of 14.26%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up .0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.32 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. will post 6.37 EPS for the current year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 8th. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.18%. J.B. Hunt Transport Services's dividend payout ratio is presently 32.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on JBHT. Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $170.00 price target (down from $175.00) on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $164.00 target price on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $163.00 price target (up previously from $150.00) on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $164.90.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Profile

J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc provides surface transportation, delivery, and logistic services in the United States. It operates through five segments: Intermodal (JBI), Dedicated Contract Services (DCS), Integrated Capacity Solutions (ICS), Final Mile Services (FMS), and Truckload (JBT). The JBI segment offers intermodal freight solutions.